1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to improvements in safety features for ladders, and more particularly, to an attachment for a ladder to allow a person to work more safely on a pitched roof of a building structure.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In U.S. patent application Ser. No. 083,592, filed Aug. 6, 1987 and entitled "Safety Attachment for Ladder", there is disclosed a safety attachment for a ladder to permit the user of the attachment, when the attachment is on the ladder, to be locked onto the ladder so that the user will be more positively and safely connected to the ladder. The attachment also permits the person to move laterally on the ladder when the ladder is on a pitched roof so as to allow the person to perform certain tasks, such as cutting a hole in the roof with a chain saw or an ax to ventilate the roof when the roof is on fire.
The attachment set forth in the above disclosure includes a rigid frame having means thereon for removably coupling a frame to the rungs of a ladder to which the attachment is to be coupled. The frame has a pair of cross-pieces or rods which are rigidly secured to the sides of the frame and are spaced apart sufficiently to allow one leg of the user to extend partially about one of the rods while the foot or shin of the leg engages the other of the rods. In this way, when the attachment is coupled to the rungs of the ladder, the user is effectively locked onto or anchored by the attachment so that the person can move laterally of the ladder to perform certain tasks while being confident that the attachment will not separate from the ladder.
While the attachment as described in the above disclosure is satisfactory in many instances, it has been found that such an attachment is more easily handled and stored if it can be collapsed or made compact, such as being reduced in size, until ready for use; whereupon it can be expanded into a condition in which is operative on the ladder for the purposes described above. Thus, a need exists for such a collapsible attachment or ladder of the type described and the present invention satisfies this need.